Need opinions on picking names

Ok mommas. You've all been there, done that at least a few times. When you decided on names for your babies (past or current pregnancies), how important was it to you to have the name be unique. DH and I have been struggling with names ever since we found out we were having another girl. With my last pregnancy, we knew DS name from the beginning but took much of the pregnancy before we settled on a girl's name we both liked. Now, we've been talking about names we like and we both decided on a name we really liked. Problem...our 18 year old babysitter who is due to deliver a month before I am announced that she is naming her baby the same name! We hadn't told anyone because we like to keep the names to ourselves until baby is born, so now we are really torn. She doesn't run in the same circles as we do, and we don't even know if she will be able to continue to babysit since she is having a baby herself, so would it be a big deal if we chose the same name? She is planning to spell it in some funky way and we were going to go with the traditional spelling, but I keep wondering if it would be weird. We've been racking our brains for another name we like ever since and haven't come up with anything yet!

 

I'd use it. Will she be babysitting them when they get in school? Maybe, maybe not. She doesn't run in your circles and honestly, it's a completely different name because #1, it's spelled differently and #2 you have a different last name than she does (I'm guessing.)

 

In my case, once dh and I finally agree on a name I don't care who else is using it! We ARE too!! We have such a terrible time agreeing on names! If I were you, I would use it. I don't know why but our girls names were the hardest for us to agree on! We didn't even name Ava until the day we left the hospital!!

 

It does not matter. My DH is funny about names being unique, too, though. I'd say I'd bet there is more than 1 of that name walking around the world- that doesn't make the name common.

 

Use it! Finding a name that you both love is tough enough without adding extra barriers to the process. Our Danika is the 3rd one on DH's side of the family but we loved the name so we went with it (of course, DH's side of the family could populate a small country so...ardon.

 

I think you should use it. If it were me it would be in the back of my mind that I knew someone else using the name and I'd try to think of another name. But if there was nothing else we could agree on then I'd use it anyway. That's what we had to do with my son's name. We went through names for months and months. I swear every guy that works with my husband who had a baby in 2009 - 2010 all named their sons Cooper but oh well. It was the only name we could agree on.

 

I say use it also...My cousin named his daughter Riley the same as my daughters name Rylee. My Rylee is 2 yrs older and I was a bit upset at first but what r u going to do? They clamied they really loved the name and spelling was different then my daughters, I'm over it also some friends of ours that where 2months apart in pg both named their baby the same name and they both were upset about it at first Isabella was the name they picked and one couple calls her Izzy and the other couple calls their girl Bella. They are all still friends and have playdates all the time. So I guess at first its alittle upsetting but everyone will get over it good luck!!!

 

I always tell my children I was a Jennifer born in the late seventies. I have little sympathy for my children that might have 1 or 2 other children in their age group at any given event that might share their name. This might be more problematic for DD then the rest of them as her name was number 2 or 3 the year she was born, but still see the first sentence. All of my children have "common", "normal" names.

That said, when my mom starts talking about William, we always have to ask which one. Way back when when I was pregnant with the twins and my SIL was pregnant with their first (a girl) I asked my brother (William) if they had another child and it was a boy, would they want to name him William. I got a definite 100% no chance so I went ahead and used it as it is a family name on both sides. As a matter of fact my William's name is an exact duplicate of DH's grandfather's name. Fast forward 6 years and along comes that second child for my brother, a boy, and what does he call him... William of course. So now my mom has 2 grandsons with the name William and this can get confusing in a conversation (luckily brother lives several states away so directly figuring out what to call all of them rarely happens). So if this was a sister you were talking about, I would hesitate to repeat the name, but this is your babysitter. I say it is fair game.

 

I wouldn't but I'm OCD about names more than anything else. My cousin wants to name his daughter aubrey ann after our great gma. I wanted to use grace Aubriona if me and me SO ever have a girl. Then his brother who's daughter name is Emma grace gets called grace by only him(still puzzles me). So grace really maybe out too. We are a really close family so it's not like we don't see each other

 

I coudnt help but notice your twins are William and Nathan. Mine are William and Nathaniel. haha

And I would def use the name you and your hubby chose Sluggard

 

Too funny!

 

I would use your name. It would bother me too but it isn't a strong enough association to keep me from using it.